


Evergreen

by KarismicHabichi



Category: Evergreen (Original Work)
Genre: Fantasy, Modern Western, Mystery, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, intentionally keeping tags vague
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-07-29 01:31:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20073907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarismicHabichi/pseuds/KarismicHabichi
Summary: Kyle discovers a mysterious gem in the Evergreen Riverbed, and with it finds a whole new world hiding behind the quiet West Texas town of Evergreen.





	1. Speak to Me: Part 1

Kyle woke up with a start as he heard the all too familiar sound of his alarm clock blaring to his left. Without a sound, he rolled over from the other side of his queen size bed to the alarm. The alarm sounded like a trumpet line constantly blasting a single loud note over and over again. It was the only alarm he could find to knock him out of his heavy slumber. After all, most days he didn’t want to get out of bed at all. His hand found the alarm’s shut off button and the trumpet line was finally silenced. Kyle swung his legs out from the bed, stood up, and stretched. He heard his bones crack as he curled his back and he was ready to go. Kyle’s room was pretty decently sized, but he kept his belongings to a minimum. He didn’t feel the need to personalize his room. All that he really owned was a dresser which had a small television on top of it, a desk with his laptop and some old instant bake pizza boxes on it, and his bed. He had put on some black out curtains on his windows last year so his room was consumed in total darkness.

Kyle shuffled over to the light switch and turned it on. The room illuminated, and Kyle had to briefly cover his eyes from the introduction of light. After his eyes adjusted, he grabbed an old pair of jeans from the top of his desk chair and the first shirt that caught his eye from his dresser. He slipped out of his night clothes and got dressed for the day. He looked himself over and saw the same tall portly kid in the mirror. Even though Kyle was only 14 he had been told he looks much older due to his height, however his height was offset by his weight. The shirts he wore were intentionally big to try and hide his size. However, his wide stomach and the fat residing around his oval shaped face betrayed any sense of hiding it. Kyle was surprisingly tan for someone who spent so much time inside, it was probably because the West Texas weather hardly left a day in the year that was below sixty degrees. He ruffled his brown hair and looked once at his one prominent feature. His bright green eyes. Even with eyes still half lidded due to a lack of sleep, his eyes still bounced brightly off the light from the ceiling fan.

Kyle left his room and shut off the light on the way out. He walked down the drab brown hallway to the bathroom right by the stair case that led down to the first level of his house and entered. He went through the monotonous process of brushing his teeth and doing whatever else he needed to in the bathroom. When he was finally finished, he walked down stairs and turned to his left towards the kitchen. The Kitchen was a drastic departure from the drabness of his room and upstairs. It was painted white and almost always had the blinds in the windows open, letting light spill into the house. There was a grey granite countertop with an oven, sink, refrigerator, and dishwasher built into it. Along with a dining table near the window that was sparsely used due to the fact the Kyle’s dad was hardly ever home when he was. Kyle looked towards the island that was in the middle of the kitchen and noticed a saran wrapped plate and yellow sticky note. Kyle went up to the island and grabbed the note and read it.

“Morning buddy. Made you breakfast. Should have a day off work this Saturday maybe we can do something fun? Message me when you get home. Hope you have a good day.  
-Dad”

Kyle read over the note and looked at the breakfast laid out in front of him. He took the saran wrap off it and smelt the eggs and bacon wafting off of it. Kyle grabbed the plate and note, walked to the other side of the island and dumped both into the trash. He then walked over to the fridge, grabbed a carton of chocolate milk, and poured himself a glass. 

Kyle idly sipped the glass until the clock on the wall started chiming saying it was 7 o’clock. He put the glass into the sink, grabbed his plain black book bag that sat right by the kitchen table, his camera, and walked out the house. As soon as he walked out the house, he was hit by the intense heat from the West Texas sun. Evergreen sat dead set center in the middle of the desert with nothing but old abandoned warehouses and factories peppering the rather flat landscape. In the distance he could see the cuesta that sat on the edge of town. Its where the highway stretched over to let people out of town. Kyle himself had never been over the cuesta though, he saw no reason to. As we walked further down the street into downtown he passed by a few familiar sites. The brick and mortar police station that had maybe two cops to their name, the library that was hardly open, and the stainless-steel diner that sat right on the edge of the river. As he walked by the diner, affectionately named “Riverside”, the owner waved at him. Kyle put on a smile and waved back as he continued his walk. Just as he put his hand down however, he felt a hard slap on his back that nearly set him careening forward. Kyle turned around and saw Alexander.

Alexander was a boy at school he’d tutor, even though he was a grade above him. They Started pretty early in the year about a month ago working on math. Alexander was nice and insisted to Kyle that he call him Alex. Kyle complied, but he had no desire to let their relationship further than that. Alexander was a head taller than Kyle, with black hair that rolled over the front of his face and distinctly grey eyes. He was wearing his thick green and black high school letterman jacket that he earned for playing baseball and football. How he wasn’t dying from heat stroke, Kyle had no idea.

Alexander flashed a toothy smile and put his hand on Kyle’s shoulder again. “How’re you doin’ today buddy?”

Kyle simply grasped his camera a little tighter and responded quietly without looking towards Alex. “I’m okay Alex. Just heading to school.”

Alexander laughed a bit and slapped his hand again on Kyle’s shoulder. “Well I can see that. We still on for tutorin’ tomorrow after school?” 

Kyle nodded and kept walking forward.

Alexander smiled and leaned forward and whispered as if he was sharing a secret into Kyle’s ear. “Hey man. If you need anything let me- “

Alexander was cut off as someone across the street called out to him. He looked towards Kyle apologetically and smiled again. “Sorry, I’ve gotta motor. Catch you after school ok?” Alexander extended his fist towards Kyle and looked at him expectantly. Kyle complied, and gave Alexander a halfhearted fist bump.

Kyle gave a small smile and spoke with the most enthusiasm he could muster. “Yeah. Catch you later.”

On that note Alexander quickly turned around and ran across the street towards his friends. A car that Kyle recognized as another student’s nearly hit him and honked as it skidded to a stop. Alex simply waved and yelled back at the driver, thanking them for not turning him into a hood ornament. Overall the exchange seemed more like friendly jeering, than a malicious argument. 

Kyle would say this about Alex; he knew how to keep days interesting. Kyle made the final stretch towards school by the river, when he felt another hand clasp on his back.

“How’s it going Middle?” Kyle heard the nasally voice behind him, and immediately knew who it is was. Kyle turned and came face to face with Mak, Parks, and the owner of the voice Dean. They were Kyle’s friends from middle school, and even though they caused a lot of problems for him; Kyle liked to think they still cared for him.

Kyle smiled and responded mockingly. “I’m doing alright Danish.”

Kyle was met with a none too soft smack in the back of the head from Dean. “Told you not to call me that stupid nickname Middle. Now let’s get to school.” Dean sneered. As the rest of the group walked past Kyle, they all gave him smacks to the head. Kyle grasped his camera tightly so it wouldn’t fall out of his hands, and followed them quietly to school. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evergreen High, like the rest of Evergreen, was nothing to exactly go home about. It was an old single-story building with a plaza and cafeteria in the middle with the main brick building sitting around it. Off to the side were several white trailer boxes that held many of the elementary/ middle school classes, Behind the single-story building was a much newer gym that was detached from the rest of the campus. You could find a few baseball diamonds next to the gym and a full football field. It was a generally accepted joke around the school that the town cared more for making sure the fields were mowed, rather than making sure the main building didn’t collapse. And if the math book that had no cover Kyle had was any indication, he was inclined to agree.

Kyle and the rest of his friends went to their lockers right off from the main plaza and dumped his old textbooks he needed from the day into his bag as Mak and Parks were laughing at some joke Dean made. Kyle laughed out of courtesy for his friend. As he closed his locker, he heard a crash to his right. Some girl with black hair had her bag ripped open and now all of the contents were strewn across the floor. The first bell rang telling the students they had five minutes to get to all their classes. As all the students began filtering out with none looking at the girl on the ground who was struggling to get all of her supplies off the ground. It didn’t sit right watching this girl struggle all alone. He’d been there before, so he understands how much it can get to someone. Kyle turned to his friends and spoke quickly while putting a hand on the locker, getting their attention, “I’ll catch up with y’all in a bit. I’ve gotta use the restroom.”

Dean looked past Kyle to the girl on the floor. He looked like he wanted to say something. Kyle knew Dean didn’t like to interact with others besides the small group they had. He didn’t know what made Dean so vindictive with others, but after middle school he isolated all those that he considered “fakes”, which was safe to say everyone except for Mac, Parks, and himself. Dean looked only for a moment more before he shrugged. “Yeah, whatever loverboy.” With that Dean, Mac, and Parks left towards first period.

As soon as they were out of sight Kyle reentered the combination code to his locker and got a nylon bag, he received a few weeks back from a food drive. He shut the locker and moved towards the girl still on the ground. Kyle without a word crouched down next to her and began helping her pick up the books and papers across the ground. She looked up at him with surprise than quickly flashed him a smile. 

“Thanks dude. If I was late to homeroom again Mr. Velucci would have killed me.” She laughed at herself and began rubbing the back of her head, seemingly a little embarrassed of her slip up.

Kyle caught a slight accent off her voice. Was it Irish? He didn’t look up at her and dryly chuckled, again, out of courtesy. “No problem. It looked like you needed help.” An awkward pause took place and she tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up at her.

“You say something? I don’t know what you are saying if you don’t look at me.” She continued smiling and laughing as if nothing had happened. Kyle couldn’t help but think that her laugh sounded really nice and that’s when he realized who he was talking to. 

“Oh! I’m sorry Magdalene!” Kyle didn’t know Magdalene really well, but he knew she was deaf. That, and she was Mr. Kubrin’s daughter supposedly. Mr. Kubrin was the reclusive librarian in Evergreen, besides taking Magdalene to school, he never really met or talked to him. It was really hard to not know who she was considering how small the school was. She stood out. 

Magdalene laughed again. “Don’t sweat it dude. I didn’t expect you to recognize me. After all.” She leaned in and cracked a small grin. Kyle took notice of her Amber eyes and their shape. Despite the light Irish accent maybe her mom was Asian? He was certain Mr. Kubrin wasn’t from out east. She had a small blue and black ball piercing on her nose and her dark hair was done up in a bun. She looked almost cat like as she observed him. Kyle felt very hot all of the sudden. “I don’t even know who you are.”

Kyle continued picking up the last of the papers and organizing them. “My name is Kyle.” He said lamely. She looked at him expectedly, as if she wanted him to say more. “I uhh.” He gestured at the camera on his hip. “I take pictures.” 

Magdalene practically leapt up in the air. “That’s so cool! Oh, you should so show me your pictures sometime!” Kyle felt flustered, but laughed a bit. “I will. But shouldn’t you be getting to Mr. Velucci’s class?”

Magdalene paused bouncing for a moment, looked at the clock, then immediately panicked “Shoot! I’m so screwed. I don’t even have a bag.” She immediately went to her locker to stuff her school supplies in. 

Kyle simply tapped her shoulder and held up the red nylon bag he’d been holding. He gave his best smile to reassure her. “Yeah you do.” She looked at him and he immediately began to lose his nerve. “I mean. I have an extra bag from the food drive last week. If you want it you can. Uh. Have it.” He trailed off thinking he came off too forward, when she snatched the bag out of his hand, and begun stuffing her supplies in it.

Whilst stuffing her bag she again smiled and thanked him. “Kyle, I owe you. Thanks so much. Show me those pics sometime ok?! I’m so sorry to rush off. But you know, detention.” She slung the bag over her shoulder and slammed her locker shut, and ran across the plaza. Kyle turned to leave as well to get to his class. As she reached the end of the plaza she turned around. “Kyle!” 

He whipped around to look at her. She again gave him a smile and waved at him. “You are the best dude! Thanks again!” She ran around the corner and disappeared. Kyle stood there for a moment until the tardy bell rung. He was late to class, but he couldn’t find the will to care. He walked into class late smiling.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After school was over Kyle, Dean, Mac, And Parks were all walking home by the Evergreen River. All was quiet until Dean spoke up. 

“What got you all happy Middle? That girl give you a great reward or somethin’?” Dean practically snarled the last words as he kept walking. Mac and Parks per usual were laughing. Dean smiled at himself. Kyle didn’t find it as funny. 

“No.” Dean whipped around him in an instant the air was quickly too thick for Kyle’s liking. He continued on in a small voice. “She uh. She just wanted to see the pictures I’ve taken” 

Mac quickly snagged the camera from Kyle. Kyle tried to grab it, but he tossed it to Dean. Dean clicked his tongue in annoyance. “She’s a fake Middle. Don’t you realize? They all are.” He tossed the camera in his hand flipping it as it were a bottle. Kyle tried to reach for it but Parks just slapped him in the back of the head. “She don’t care for your pictures. None of us do.” With that he threw it into the Evergreen River. Kyle felt as if he was going to cry. He wanted to yell at Dean, to punch him, but he couldn’t find the energy to. Photography was the only thing he felt as if he was decent at. And all of his work was just thrown into the river by his friend. Dean put a hand to his shoulder and squeezed tightly. “The sooner you realize that none of this matters the better off you’ll be. Stop pretending to care”

They all walked off leaving Kyle behind. Kyle glanced over to the river and saw that it was rather shallow. The camera was undoubtedly ruined. But maybe he could save the film. He walked down to the river bed, took off his shoes, and rolled his jeans up so they wouldn’t get wet and began wading throughout the riverbed. The water was calf deep and rather cool despite the hot summer day, the rocks against his feet were smooth and they slid easily underneath his weight. He remembered his dad and him came down and played in the water. They looked for cool looking stones. They’d try getting the smooth ones so he could skip them. Kyle never once was able to skip stones like his dad. They were good times. But they were long gone for Kyle. He kept scanning the river bed looking for his camera and as he went around, he began to absentmindedly throwing rocks trying to skip them. It never worked.

Kyle reached the middle of the riverbed and picked up another stone when he noticed something strange. A faint red glow was showing through the rocks. Kyle quickly moved the rest of the rocks to the side and saw what was making the glow. It was a small diamond shaped jewel, no bigger than the size of his hand with gold trim dividing the diamond into fourths. It looked so strange. And Kyle was entranced. Kyle reached out and tentatively grabbed the gem. 

Immediately Kyle felt as if he had all the air in him was knocked out. He was blinded by a red light then blue lightning crashed into his vision. He saw flashes of a hooded figure with a lamp, a short man in blue, lambs in a field, a bat and snake intertwined, hanging light bulbs in the night sky, a girl with red hair, several more images continued to flash before his mind, and then nothing. He gasped for breath and took in water.Realizing that he was still under the river's surface, Kyle bolted upwards and broke through the rivers surface. Kyle coughed up all the water and began taking deep breaths. He opened his eyes and saw great mountains in the distance. Far larger than any he’d seen before. The mountains had a deep shade of blue to him with green mist rolling off their spear like peaks. The mountains looked so big and sharp that they look like they were trying to cut the sky itself. Kyle blinked again, and as soon as he opened his eyes the great mountains were gone.

Kyle continued to take deep shuttering breathes as he tightly grasped onto his chest. Despite being soaked from lying down in the river he felt as if his body was burning. Kyle looked down onto the hand against his chest and saw the gem glowing brightly. The top left and bottom right sections of the gem were glowing a soft red, slowing with what looked like the wax inside of a lava lamp. The top right and bottom left sections of the gem were glowing a dark blue, showing what looked like small lines of electricity, seemingly arcing from deep within the gem itself.

Kyle stared down at the gem for a moment before he heard someone call out his name.

“Kyle!” Kyle turned around and saw Alexander calling from the bridge. Alexander jumped off to side and made his way to Kyle. Kyle took the time to put the gem in his pocket. Judging by the way oxygen was seemingly in a lot shorter supply, he was freaking out, and he did’t want to share that with anyone else. “Whatcha doin’ there bud? You just swimming for fun in your clothes?”

Kyle gave a nervous chuckle as the gem burned in his pocket. “Just uh. Looking for my camera. It was... I dropped it in the river. From- from the bridge.” Kyle didn’t want to drag Alexander into his problem with Dean. It wasn’t worth fighting over. He’d much rather go home and figure out what in the world was going on. That and he felt as if at any second the gem was going to burn a hole in his pants.

Alexander simply nodded and looked ahead. “You mean that one right over there?” Kyle looked where Alexander was looking, and sure enough his camera was laying about 20 feet in front of him at the end of the bank.

Kyle gave a small smile and nodded. “Yeah that’s it right there here I’ll grab-,” before Kyle could even make a move to get up Alexander hopped into the river and walked over to the camera, He didn’t even bother taking off his shoes. Alexander pulled the camera out of the water and gave it a quick shake. He then tossed it to over to Kyle.  
Kyle quickly caught the camera before giving Alexander a small smile. “Thanks. You didn’t have to get all wet for me.” 

Alexander shrugged his shoulders with a smile and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Ain’t no big deal. I gotta change for practice anyways.” Alexander took a moment and then seemingly taking in his surroundings for the first time, looked at the bridge than down at the river itself. Alexander turned to look at Kyle incredulously. He looked as if he was staring down Kyle like a baseball trying to figure it out where it’d go. In fact; he’d only seen that face from Alexander if he was playing baseball. “You know, from the looks of it, your camera floated upstream.”

Alexander spoke evenly, but it filled Kyle with guilt. Kyle then felt the gem spike in heat in his pocket to the point it made him wince. He was counting on Alexander not noticing how the camera seemingly floated away opposing the rivers current. Kyle now wanted nothing more than to get out of here. “Looks like it” Kyle paused trying not claw at the burning sensation in his leg.” Look. I gotta go home. Its late and I got a lot of homework to do.” 

Kyle quickly ran out the river bed and grabbed his stuff. “Thanks for the help Alex.” Before Alexander could get a word in edgewise, Kyle was already up the bank of the river and heading towards home. He heard a voice as he was running down the empty street, and he was sure it wasn’t Alex’s.


	2. Speak to Me: Part 2

As soon as Kyle got into his room he immediately threw the burning gem out of his pocket onto the floor of his room. Its deep reds and electric blues continually moved and shifted within the confines of its golden trim, however it didn't do anything besides that. Kyle didn't trust that one bit. He felt how much the gem itself burned. He was sure that any moment it would catch on fire and burn down his house. 

Kyle knew how chemical reactions worked. Maybe for some reason the gem was having some violent reaction which was generating heat. It was the only logical possibility. He grabbed a fire extinguisher from the kitchen and set up shop under his desk. He wasn’t afraid. He was just worried that his house would burn down. The whispers he kept in ears meant nothing either. It was just some dumb kids playing in the street. Probably.

Right. He was totally fine.

Kyle wasn’t fine at all. It had been only been twenty minutes since he got home from the river with the gem and he kept hearing the voices. He had no idea where they were coming from either. It felt like the walls themselves have come to life to whisper to him. What were they saying? He hadn’t a clue. 

All he knew was that voices have gotten louder and there didn't seem to be any any reprieve from the constant bombardment of whispers. It was terrifying. Kyle didn't dare move to touch the gem in any way. This dangerous object was in his house, and he had to get it out somehow. Kyle had an old miniature of a catapult he’d built with his dad when he was nine. Maybe he could use that to launch it out the window. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Slowly Kyle moved to his closet which was about five feet from the gem itself. It seemed to hum when Kyle got closer, but he tried to ignore it to the best of his abilities. Kyle slowly opened the closet and began rummaging through a bunch of old junk. A pair of old running shoes, a bracelet, and other odds and ins when he finally found the catapult he was looking for. Slowly Kyle turned around and stepped out of the closet when he came face to face with a very tall dark figure with wide red eyes.

Kyle immediately let out a yelp of surprise and fell right back into the closet. The figure continued to do nothing as Kyle scrambled and screamed, Kyle grabbed ahold of the old pair of running shoes and threw them directly at the figure. The shoes however, phased right through their large dark body as if they were nothing at all. The figure looked down where the shoes went through him and gingerly with one of their arms poked the spot. Kyle’s mind was in an even deeper space of frenzy now. He had no idea who this person was, why they were inside his house, or why they didn't have a body. Kyle wanted to get out, but this thing was standing right in front of the closet entrance where Kyle was stuck in. whilst the figure was still prodding where the shoes went through when Kyle finally got a good look at them. 

The figure was tall, standing nearly flush with the ceiling of Kyle’s room, and even then they were deeply hunched over. They wore a dark grey cloak which covered their entire body with the exception of their face. Of which… there was none that he could see. All that sat was their red eyes which were also seemingly void of any light in the middle. All that was there was a seemingly swirling pool of red energy. As the figure’s body shifted Kyle got a glance of a lamp like object in their hand. From what Kyle could see, it appeared to have a gold trim, with bright reds and blues contained within the glass of the lamp. Kind of like…

“The gem.”

The second Kyle said anything, the figure’s eyes snapped up from their chest to him. Kyle panicked again and dug himself deeper into the junk of his closet. 

The figure continued to seemingly bore a hole into Kyle when it finally spoke. “It isn’t a gem.” Their voice was soft but carried an almost ancient tone to it, and the way that their voice carried an echo made it seem like multiple people were talking at once. They sounded familiar to Kyle.

Kyle hesitantly began to raise himself from the closet, sitting up rather then pressed against the back. He looked back between the figure then the gem, curiosity filling him. Kyle didn't know who this person was but they seem to be in some way connected the gem. So, hesitantly, Kyle spoke. 

“Then what is it?”

“Doesn’t matter.” The figure said quickly.

Kyle was taken aback. Here he was in his home, with an uninvited stranger and their gem, and he didn't deserve to know what was going on? That wasn’t how things should be working at all. 

Kyle nonetheless continued to grill the figure. 

“Who are you?”

“Doesn't matter.” The figure responded just as quickly.

Again, Kyle felt like this wasn’t fair to him at all. He was used to getting the short end of the stick, but it was frustrating having something he didn't even ask for, barge into his room, and say he didn't deserve what was going on. 

“Ok. What does matter then?” Kyle asked.

“That you don't deserve this.” The figure said simply.

Kyle felt as if he was slapped in the face. Deserve what? This gem he found sitting at the bottom of the river? He felt as if he was consumed by some sort of void that refused to spit him out. It wasn’t fair to him. He didn’t even know what was worth deserving in the first place.

Kyle leaned forward to pick himself off the floor. Slowly he got up and approached the figure and spoke with as much confidence as he could despite the feeling of dejection. “What do you mean? What don’t I deserve?”

The figure was quick to respond. “This. You don’t deserve-”

Kyle sharply cut off the figure in frustration. “I’m not playing the pronoun game. What in the world do you mean by ‘this’?”

The figure closed the distance between the two remarkably quickly. “You don’t deserve the Myrrhverhor.” they hissed.

Kyle’s apprehension quickly gave way to confusion and fear from the towering might of the figure before him. “The what?”

The figure gave a low rumble and turned away from Kyle. “That.” Kyle looked past them to see they were gesturing at the gem on the ground. “That is the Myrrhverhor. It isn't a gem, and it isn't yours. So return it from wherest you stole it.”

Despite being frazzled Kyle pressed on and followed the figure across the room. “Well, I didn't steal it.” The figure turned their heads towards him without turning the rest of their body, and their silence seemingly acted as an invitation to continue. “I found it in the river.” Kyle weakly finished.

At this point the figure stood straight with their head nearly clipping the ceiling above and turned towards Kyle fully. “What river?”

Kyle dutifully pointed out his window. “I found it in the river that runs through town.”

The figure cocked their head to the side like a confused dog and walked over to the window. As they reached out to move the black curtains to the side, their figures phased right through the curtains like the running shoes thrown at them before.

They kept repeating the motion seemingly in a vain attempt to will them open. Seeing the figure struggle, Kyle decided to put aside all questions of why the figure was a ghost and just help them out. Cautiously, Kyle moved right alongside of the figure and moved the curtain for them. The figure glanced at Kyle for a brief moment and in response he made sure not to look directly at them. This situation after all was still very forieghn to him and frankly, their eyes unnerved him quite a bit.

The figure shifted their gaze outside towards the setting West Texas sun and the river flowing down the valley far off in the distance. It was truly a beautiful afternoon outside. With the sun beginning its slow descent down towards the distant mountains in the West. With the clear river flowing through past the farm houses in the valley and the soft yellows and oranges in the clear sky, it looked like a perfect photo for Kyle. The figure raised their hand and pointed out towards the soft orange horizon. “Is that where you found it?”

Kyle nodded his head in response. “Yes, but it was a little further upstream towards the town center.”

They made a grunt in acknowledgment and continued to stare out the window into the distance before they turned around once again towards the center of the room. “I don't recognize this place at all.” They said in their usual flat voice.

“Not many do. Evergreen is a small town.” Kyle paused and steeled himself to take a look at the figure standing in his room. They simply stood, hunched over what they called the Myrrhvian (or something rather close to that), and looked at it deep in thought. Kyle was normally aquantited with silence, but this time the silence seemingly teased him with so many unanswered questions. Eventually, his curiosity overrode his fear. “What's your name?”

As with before, the figure was quick to dismiss Kyle “I don't have one. And even if I did, it doesn't matter to you.”

Kyle groaned in frustration. “Why? Why does it not matter? I’m the one stuck here with you. I'm the one who found the Myrrhvian in the river!”

“The Myrrhverhor,” The figure said frustratingly. “And if you must know why it doesn’t matter. It is because you’re not even worthy of being in the same room as it.”

Not worthy? Kyle knew he wasn't anything special, he even considered himself to be way below the average, but being told he wasn’t good enough for a dumb rock. It hurt. It hurt despite not knowing what was so special about it in the first place. He tried to let it go. Whenever he felt like he was being attacked he’d just be quiet and let it blow over. It was way easier than feeling like he wasn’t worth it. This was different though. The indignation from earlier kept rising itself out of his throat like bile. And he hated it.

Kyle opened and closed his mouth multiple times before the words finally willed themselves out of his mouth. “Maybe I am-”

The figure rose sharply, and pointedly glared at Kyle. “Do you know what this even is?”

“No. Because you haven't told-” 

“Do you know of the Blackstars?”

“What-”

“The Sea of Dreams?

“The wha-”

“Do you even know what The Third Eye Forest is?”

The silence overtook the room again. Kyle slumped his shoulders. “No.” He wasn’t going to lie and say that he did.

“Beyond that your lack of self improvement is appalling. You willingly stagnate yourself and have no desire to move on further. Even if you did know what those were, what makes you think I’d deem you worthy?” The figure’s eyes stayed level with Kyle. His gaze unwavering.

Kyle simply didn’t have any response and stayed silent. He didn't want to be apart of this conversation anymore.  
“Well?” The figure only slightly raised their voice slightly, but to Kyle it felt like a shout, and he recoiled.

“No.” Kyle finally said. Making the conscious choice to look only at the floor and not anywhere else.

The figure straightened up once more. “Then we are in agreeance. Return the Myrrhverhor and myself to the river tomorrow.” With that Kyle heard the sound of wind and he looked up. The figure had disappeared and the Myrrhverhor’s glow dissipated. Gingerly, Kyle reached out to pick it up. As he grabbed it, he noticed that it no longer burned, but rather gently warmed his hand. He put it on his desk next to his phone and he walked towards his bed his phone loudly went off.

Kyle turned and picked up his phone, looking at its notification screen. The text was from Parker asking where he was. He saw multiple others from his friends as well. All demanding him to get on the computer so they could raid. One he saw was from Dean asking why he was ignoring his friends.

Kyle sighed, he could get on, or he could lie and say he wasn't feeling well. Either way he knew he’d be belittled by his friends. Whether that being late to the designated raid time, or for feeling sick. Either way, the choices were not in his favor. So he simply shut off his phone and flopped down onto his bed, he didn't even bother changing out of his clothes. It was hopeless trying to avoid the belittlement. 

It was all hopeless anyways.

Kyle left for the school earlier compared to most days. He made his usual route down the street, pass the cafe, and finally before he got to the river.

The Myrrhverhor sat in his hand, it glowed softly against the early morning sun. Its usual warmth warmed Kyles hand. It felt as if it were a beating heart, slowly . Kyle looked down to his hand, towards the river, and then back to his hand again. As Kyle looked down again the gem glowed a little bit brighter and grew hotter in his hand. Not uncomfortably so, but it almost seemed panicked, even scared. 

Kyle didn't care though. He didn't deserve the Myrrhverhor. He didn't deserve anything. 

With that Kyle cocked his arm back, and with all his might threw the gem into the river. He watched as it sailed across the early morning sky and land into the river with a loud splash. 

Kyle stood on the bridge for a few seconds, still looking into the distance before turning around and heading to school.

Three days had passed since Kyle threw the gem back into the river, and Kyle’s life more or less stayed the same. Classes were hardly worth paying attention, School was a chore, and he hardly saw his dad still. The second Dean, Mac, and Parker saw Kyle during third period thay grilled him about why he hadn’t been online to help them raid. Kyle said he simply fell asleep. Mac and Parks seemed to believe him, Dean however eyed him suspiciously. If he did suspect anything though, he didn't bring it up. After they all gave him a good slap upside the head, things returned to normal. 

Well. Normal for Kyle.

Kyle had seen Magdalene walking around the school but she was always by a short girl with dark brown hair and a dark skinned boy he recognized as Myles Orano. He didn’t know much about him other than he was the local class clown in his fifth period Biology class. Since he hardly knew either of her two friends, so he didn't even bother trying to say hi. The world kept turning, and he just kept rolling with the punches. 

Kyle was in his third period english class taking notes and handing them to Parks when he felt something wet in his pants. Specifically, in his right pocket. Kyle tried ignoring it at first, however, he felt the wet spot grow larger and larger. Panic began to set in rapidly. He knew he wasn’t wetting himself, he hardly needed to pee. So maybe his water spilled? Nope. his desk was as dry as the desert outside. The wet spot grew to the point where the fabric of his jeans could no longer contain the liquid and it began dripping to the floor, catching the attention of Parks to his right. 

Parker looked down and saw the puddle forming slowly forming underneath Kyle, along with the streak of liquid that covered his jeans from crotch down his pants. He began to snicker and had to hold his hand over his mouth to keep himself from outright cackling at the situation. 

Kyle, red faced, and feeling as if all eyes were on him, quietly excused himself from class, and with liquid dripping behind him the whole way, ran to the bathroom.  
When Kyle entered the boys locker room. He quickly made his way to the sinks and slammed his hand against the countertop in frustration and embarrassment. He couldn't believe what just happened. It had to happen in English class too. The only class he had with all his friends. To top it off, Magdalene was in that class as well. He embarrassed himself in front of not only the whole class, but in front of his friends as well. Kyle put his hands up to his face when he registered the weight in his pocket, along with the fact that liquid was at this point practically pouring out the fabric. 

Quickly, Kyle fished whatever was in his pocket and came face to face with a bright red and blue glow. He was stunned. Why was the gem in his pocket? And why on earth was it pouring water? Thinking quickly, Kyle threw the object into the sink. The second it clattered against the porcelain a familiar black figure appeared beside him.

Kyle sighed and looked down. “What’re you doing here?”

The figure annoyingly glared down at Kyle as if he were a small child. “I thought I told you to take the Myrrhverhor back to the river?” He looked down to the object, which was still spewing water. They jostled up their robes and pointed a single, skinny, black finger toward it. “Stop that.” and the gem stopped spewing water.

Kyle watched this with rapt attention. “You two are connected.”

“It doesn’t-”

“Matter I know.” Kyle was quick to interrupt.

The figure glanced up at Kyle. “Why bother asking then? If you know it doesnt matter?”

Kyle paused. “Because… it came back to me.”

They continued to stare at Kyle. “What do you mean it came back to you?” 

“I took it back to the river like you asked. It's been three days since then, and I was in class when it just reappeared in my pocket.” Kyle gestured down to his soaked pants. “See? I didn't choose for it to come back.” He paused and the figure simply stood rooted to the same spot overlooking the gem. Feeling daring, he spoke up again. “I think I deserve some answers. Whether you think I’m worthy or not.”

An almost oppressive silence set between the two of them as the figure stared down the Myrian. Their swirling red eyes slowing to a sluggish pace. Kyle thought they chose to ignore him and was about to give up and walk away when he heard them began to speak slowly. “It has taken a liking to you.”

This left Kyle even more confused. “What has?”

The figure straightened their body and shifted their gaze towards Kyle.“The Myrrhverhor. Though many old people called it The Myrian for short.” He paused before continuing. “Many consider it a gateway to a world of vast energy, different from your own. So yes, we are connected, I guess you can call me the Gatekeeper.“

Kyle let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. “What kind of energy?”

“Many people called it magic. Though to me personally, sounds too supernatural. This is as natural as the sun rising. People can take the energy from the world behind The Myrain and use it in the physical world. You world. Though they usually need to use other objects, or their own bodies as a conduit. That.” He gestured towards The Myrain in the sink. “Is the only physical object in the multiverse that connects the physical world and magical world."

Kyle felt as if his brain was going through five different processes. Magic? That was only stuff entertainers would tell dumb little kids were real so they could explain how their little clothes appearing seemingly out of nowehere. A Multiverse? That existed in science fiction alone, and even then it was a can of worms that many got so consumed by, it felt it they were disappearing up their own butt. However when The Gatekeeper said that magic existed, it sounded almost convincing. Maybe Kyle was really going crazy after all. There was no way any of this was real.

The Gatekeeper squinted their eyes. “You following? I'm not explaining this again.” 

Kyle could only dumbly nod his head. He was enthralled,

The gatekeeper only grunted. “The Myrian is ancient. I don't even know how old it is myself. And many consider it to be a myth. But it isn't.” They looked towards The Myrian. “It is real. All of it. Something far older than any of us has taken a liking to a boring kid who didnt even know what magic was.” They moved closer to Kyle and leaned down to get on level with the teenage boy, “So why?”

Kyle didn't have an answer. In truth he was still awestruck. The way that The Gatekeeper spoke with such sincerity left not a single doubt in his mind on whether he was being pranked or not. To him this was a whole new world. ”I don’t know.” Kyle looked past The Gatekeeper towards the sink which still glowed with an intense red and blue light. He felt dizzy from all the new information being thrown at him. It was all very confusing, sure, but he felt something rise deep within his chest. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.  
He felt determination.

Kyle continued slowly “I don't know. But I want to be worthy.” he gazed and at The Gatekeeper and raised his fist in front of him. “What do I have to do to learn magic?”

The Gatekeeper kept their gaze locked on Kyle. He sighed and spoke tiredly. “It isn't-. Sure. Magic. Look I don't mean to crush you kid. But, you may be too old.”

Kyle deflated. “What do you mean?”

“You know how young people's bodies are very flexible at young age?” Kyle nodded. “Well that's when you are closest to your own “magical form”. How do you think small ones heal so quickly? Anyways, most people have to start very young to even have a possibility of being able to use it for the rest of their lives. Every world has different cycles, but, by my guess This world has to start learning the way by at least five full cycles around the star. Seven at the latest.” 

Kyle was fourteen. He was more than double the age of what The Gatekeeper said. “Is it possible to learn still?”

They shook their head. “Very slim. Practically non existent. Young ones have to be physically fit as well.” The Gatekeeper glared at Kyle coldly. “Which you are not.”

They weren't wong, Kyle’s diet of instant pizzas haven't exactly done wonders to his health. But, Kyle was determined to try. If The Myrain took some form of liking to him like The Gatekeeper said he will take whatever shot he can take to improve. “Then I will train.” Kyle said determidly “I’ll start running again so we can at least try.” 

The Gatekeeper didn’t move, and Kyle couldn't tell what they were thinking at that moment. But, when they rose Kyle followed their eyes. “We can try. Though, I do expect success.” They paused. “You were chosen for a reason.” That gave Kyle pause, The Gatekeeper continued. “The Myrian hasn’t been seen by any one person. Many consider it a myth. Why it appeared now? I'm not sure myself,” They gazed back at Kyle. “But I hope you're ready.”

Kyle nodded his head. He wanted to prove to not only The Gatekeeper, but to himself, that he was worthy of The Myrian. He was ready for the path ahead.


End file.
